Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Ruins, by Eleanor Arnason

Old Venus, 2015; ~14,600 words
Rating: 3, Good, ordinary, story

Ash leads a team from National Geographic to see unusual megafauna in the Russian part of Old Venus.

Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)

Pro: We start with Ash trying to find a good story for National Geographic, and we conclude with her having found a better one than anyone expected, although she suspects some of it may be faked. The subplot of the Russians wanting to replace their council is also well done.

Arkady's character is particularly amusing; he's a communist revolutionary when it suits him, but he's a hard-nosed businessman when it matters. "Capitalists have so much money."

Con: It's a little dissatisfying that we aren't sure whether the CIA was really there or if it was just a hoax. The repeated bits about Earth dying get tiresome when nothing is done with them; they seem to be a purely political statement by the author.

No comments (may contain spoilers):

Post a Comment (comment policy)